Sustainable AI Futures: Decolonising technology research and design across Global South and North communities

Thursday Colloquium

#Thursday Colloquium with Rachel Charlotte Smith

How can we advance towards a more human, equitable and sustainable AI future based on situated values, lifeworlds and knowledges? At her #Thursday Colloquium Rachel Charlotte Smith presents her current project at HIAS which deals with questions of decolonizing research on artificial intelligence (AI).

In the context of social, environmental and technological crisis of contemporary societies, the presentation critically explores perspectives on emerging technologies and AI to support locally situated alternatives that align with local practices, knowledges, and lifeworlds for green transitions.

Drawing on research in Namibia, Rachel Charlotte Smith will approach sustainable AI futures from the perspectives of policy visions for Responsible AI in Namibia and codesign experiments with local communities with small-scale AI probes and AI-IoT hydroponics allowing rural and urban communities to grow plants with little water and no soil. Retrofitting the systems across communities and regions reveals critical questions about the role of emerging AI technologies and their ability to provide future subsistence while preserving local knowledge, heritage and ecologies.

^{This event is addressed to HIAS Fellows and their Tandem Partners.}